I just had to take a break from election and hurricane news and ran across this.
Island of Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell is the story of a young Native American woman who becomes stranded on one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California and lives there by herself for almost 20 years. The story is familiar to two generations of California schoolchildren (and possibly those in other states, I don't know).
What many people don't realize is that the story is based on that of a real person. And now there may be physical evidence, too.
More after the orange squiggle.
When she went to the island in 1835, California was part of Mexico. Spanish, Russian, and American sailors hunted the sea otters along its shores. When she was found in 1853, California was part of the United States, and there were no longer any of her people -- the Nicoleños -- to listen to her story. She must have lived a kind of Native American Robinson Crusoe existence on the island. (This is what Scott O'Dell vividly imagines in his book.) She was able to tell part of her tale in sign language, but she died at the Santa Barbara mission within seven weeks of being found.
Now, researchers think they have found the cave she lived in:
The yellowing government survey map of San Nicolas Island dated from 1879, but it was quite clear: There was a big black dot on the southwest coast and, next to it, the words "Indian Cave."
For more than 20 years, Navy archaeologist Steve Schwartz searched for that cave. It was believed to be home to the island's most famous inhabitant, a Native American woman who survived on the island for 18 years, abandoned and alone, and became the inspiration for "Island of the Blue Dolphins," one of the 20th century's most popular novels for young readers.
[...]
With the help of recently unearthed notes written in a fine script by a 19th century government surveyor, Schwartz now believes he's found it.